Heartbreak! Palin Will Not Be At CPAC This Year
This morning I learned that Gov. Palin is no longer listed on the CPAC agenda. I just spoke with the folks at CPAC, and they confirmed that Gov. Palin will not be attending. They are currently working on getting a taped message from the governor to play at the convention.
This is disappointing, but not unexpected. We have reported on the problems the Guv would face in coming to CPAC here and here.
She promised Alaskans that she would be fully engaged during the current 90 day legislative session, and I believe she intends to fulfill that promise completely. She has already taken a lot of flak for going to the Alfalfa dinner.
About two weeks ago, Palin was asked:
How are you juggling (national expectations with being governor)?
"It’s not a tough thing to juggle when I know and am grounded in the fact that I’m Alaska’s governor, that is first and foremost…I do receive, our office receives, hundreds if not thousands of requests to either speak or participate in something. We turn them down for the most part we say no, I’m not going to leave Alaska or I’ll rarely travel outside of Alaska.
"Now a lot of people outside of Alaska don’t really understand the way that we operate up here. I’m reminded quite often and my administration is reminded often, well, every other governor travels around the nation. Look at what Arnold Schwarzenegger, for instance, is doing right now, he and Rendell and others who are traveling around the nation as proponents of their infrastructure package.
"And I say that, well, Alaska is a little bit different. We’re and I say this with all due respect, we’re a little bit more parochial here, which is good, it keeps you grounded. We want to make sure that our Alaska officials are serving the people who literally have elected them."
Gov. Palin campaigned in 2006 on the promise that she would always "put Alaskans first." Kaylene Johnson noted in her biography of Gov. Palin: "On the campaign trail, Sarah didn’t make promises she couldn’t keep."
She always fulfills her promises. That's something Alaskans like about her. We like that too.
Exit thought: As a Californian, I would be happy to loan my governor to the folks of Alaska for a week (or even a year) so that Gov. Palin can attend CPAC. But I don't think the Guv would go for that.
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33 comments:
Glad to see someone stills cares about their constituents. Those old farts up on Capitol Hill can learn from da 'Cuda.
She is the only politician in the country that is NOT allowed to be ambitious...
Gov. Palin is kept from interviews, attending events, and giving speeches because the media and Dems (basiacally one in the same) will not allow her to be involved in such "partisan" events without landblasting her for neglecting her state and her family inorder to promote her future in politics....
and yet other Govs travel the country and the world to promote themselves and their states...
If there is anything this woman can do well, its multitasking...i wish she was attending but I can understand why she would choose not too...
I understand why she is not attending, but this is a huge blow for CPAC and there will be a lot of disappointed attendees and those of us who anticipate a video of her appearance and speech.
Hopefully she can do a lot of media stuff and meet people she needs to meet while she's in DC for the National Governor's Association. Hell, Crist is throwing a bunch of fundraisers for the party, hopefully he and 'Cuda will team up and raise some mad cash.
When is the NGA's meeting? She should use that time in DC wisely when she's not in the meeting because not attending CPAC is quite a sacrifice for someone with national political ambitions. She's yielding the floor to others, so she should use the NGA the week before to take back the floor.
"On the campaign trail, Sarah didn't make promises she couldn't keep."
That's one hell of a concept. Betcha they won't have a ticker of all the broken promises made by Pres Palin like the one they have for AngryEars.
Sorry, that was childish. Pres. Obama.
He's kind of an ass though. Just saying.
ahaha let's send the Governator away please!
and this woman is just classy all around.
Hmmm... this hints strongly that she's running for re-election. It's too bad she's not in the lower 48, where leaving your state is not a big deal.
"this hints strongly that she's running for re-election"
My thoughts exactly. Otherwise, a bit of local bad press wouldn't be a big deal. And frankly, I believe that the Alaska people don't give a whit about this nonsense that the legislators and media make such a stink about.
I admire and more fully trust her because of her servants heart of gold to honor commitments as the elected Gov. of Alaska. Im sure she will support many a cause if not in person but spirit we know where she stands and what she stands for. Way to go Sarah!!mas
I know conservatives (myself included) make a big deal about CPAC. But speaking realistically, its not a big deal in the grand scheme of GOP politics. There will be two more CPAC meetings before the 2012 primaries for her to speak at.
Also, it might not be a good idea to attend this one if Rush is going to be the keynote speaker. If she is there the media and Obama will try to link the two of them as the leaders of the GOP.
First, you don't want to be declared the leader of the GOP by the media as it will tick off a lot of other Republicans. Second, given that the MSM and Obama will try to demonize Rush for the next couple of years, it would be best for her to keep her distance from him.
She has some big problems at home to deal with, the AG resignation, getting a budget agreement with the Legislature, the volcano still bubbling away, the contempt citation against Todd and her staff etc.. She probably needs to start to go on a political offensive against her enemies at home - and not be travelling out of state giving political speechs. Lots of time for that this summer and fall.
I would bet she skips the Governors' meeting in Washington as well. If she goes there it will be a media circus, with the media demanding she answer questions about the wolves, troopergate and the contempt citation,her PAC and presidential ambitions, the recent book about her etc..
From the management of her political career, it might be a good idea to "cool" things down for a while. She is a big sports fan, so she knows its a long season to 2012 and you don't want to peak too soon. Also, as a marathon runner she knows you don't want to take the lead too early. Better to stay in the pack for a while and make your move later in the race.
Hey guys, CNN's political ticker has put up a post about her not attending CPAC.
Read what Big Bill had to say about her not attending. This guy has to go; he seems completely out to lunch with anything having to do with 'Cuda's national profile
Anon,
You are preaching to the choir about McAllister here
Mr. Bill has become a like a character from Airplane!
He reminds me of Joe Biden
JR,
Any chance that this move could be one for the national political audience as well in addition to the local audience?
I agree with Anonymous; all polling shows that Limbaugh isn't a very well-liked figure among indies and even a lot of Republicans (only 60% favorables among Republicans according to gallup; Palin is in the mid-80s). It's not a bad idea for her to creat some distance between her and the parts of our base that our disdained by independents.
She could be trying to rebuild her bipartisan independent brand (it seems to be working with the Rasmussen polling); whether we like or not, CPAC is as partisan an event as you'll attend and things may be said there that are offensive. She'll want to be thousands of miles away when that happens.
She should not just send in a video though if it's possible for her to give her presentation live from Juneau....it sounds like a bad move in the short-run but it may have its benefits long-term. I expect nearly speaker and 2012 candidate to take hits at Obama at the event and it may actually benefit her to be the only one who actually doesn't mention his name very much.
haha, so Bill doesn't have an explanation as to why she's not attending but somehow agreed to the explanation given by a CPAC operative as to why Palin's not attending; I guess 'Cuda has really cut this guy off from her national profile if a CPAC operative has a reason why Billy is left speechless.
It's pretty clear that Bill will not be her 2011-2012 campaign spokesman, hahaha.
I bet she does attend the NGA meeting.
yo can we get Megan Stapleton back in the spokeswoman job. Good grief Bill.
I disagree with some of you that think this means Sarah will run for a second term as Gov. I don't think she will run for a second term. I think she will write a book towards the end of her term and make lots of money. She couldn't even do a book tour if she is Gov.
Also she wants to help others running during the 2010 elections and she can't do that if she is going to be running for a second term. They have her tied to a tree up there watching every move she makes. She will need the national exposure of helping others in 2010 if she wants to run in 2012 for the big prize. If she loses that she can go back to AK and run for the Senate.
Governor Palin is using her head here. Here in Virginia many of us expected then Sen. George Allen to be the GOP nominee in 2008. He stumbled and was not reelected, that derailed his chances. Gov. Palin is one of the most politically savvy people in America, she knows what she is doing.
Anon. I agree, no way she is running for Gov. again. She can't run for 2012 if she is still Gov..
However, I disagree about her running in 2012 as a private citizen. She needs to show she can be re-elected to be a viable candidate. And she needs a big win.
Therefore, I do believe she will take on Murkowski in the Senate primary and she will win - and Murkowski knows this. Sarah's likely to give Murkowski a call this summer and tell Lisa she is going to challenge her, but will delay her announcement for a month to give Murkowski a chance to consider two options.
The first option is that they make a joint announcement that Lisa wants to come back to Alaska to be Gov. and Palin wants to be Senator.
Both women agree to support each other in their primaries.
Option 2 is that Lisa announces that because of all the travel and family pressures, she will not seek reelection in 2012 but will return to the practice of law or seek out private sector opportunities (ie. become a lobbiest for the oil companies on K Street).
Option 3 is that Sarah and Lisa go to war. Lisa does not want to end up like her daddy so she will go with options 1 or 2.
Big oil and the Alaska Republicans would like nothing better than to see Sarah get out of town and go to Washington. They would also like to see a Murkowski back as Governor, or failing that have another good old boy Republican like Chenault back as Governor. Therefore, if Lisa doesn't want to be Gov., I'm sure big oil would be willing to offer her a career opportunity she could not resist.
Then following the state primary in August 2010, once Sarah has the Senate nomination, she resigns as Gov. handing over the reigns to Lt. Gov. Parnnell. Its unlikely she will have much of a Dem. opponent to worry about and this frees up Sarah to campaign throughout the Lower 48 for the mid term elections.
As for the book its probably being written right now - without a book deal being in place. Once she resigns as Gov. in Aug. 2010 she signs a publishing deal and the book is out by late Nov. 2010. Since she is no longer Gov. she doesn't have to worry about any ethics issues.
Disappointing, but not unexpected. I would hope that they invite her in 2010 or 2011 - perhaps after her re-election (if she decides to run again - I can't imagine why she wouldn't).
I'm not worried about Sarah making it to the top sooner rather than later. She knows what she's doing. I think there have got to be some plans in the works for something big with all the hobnobbing with the most conservative governors going on...
I personally feel she should run for re-election. Governors typically do well. She shouldn't even touch that Senate seat with a 10 ft. pole. She will do much better as a Washington outsider.
Continue to build executive experience and lead effectively as Governor in Alaska. That will be the best preparation for her in a run for President.
"She can't run for 2012 if she is still Gov."
Sure she can, just like every other Gov. who ever ran did it. She can take a leave of absence and turn the reigns over to the Lt. Gov. That's how Clinton and Bush did it.
Anon: Really think you have hit it on the head. Never thought about a
deal with Murkowski. But, I do believe if she has any real desire for a national spot she has to give up being a Gov. in AK. They won't let her out of the state to do what she would have to do to get elected.
I have no doubt she has it all planned out and this will be very interesting to watch.
howlholl: Sorry, but guess you haven't heard. AK. has different rules for their Governors then the lower 48 states. They require her to be there and she gets nothing but bad press if she leaves for any time at all. And, even if they got soft and let her take a leave, it would have to be a long leave. It takes almost 2 years in the lower 48 to run for the big prize. Right now they are watching her every min. that she or her staff do not conduct any political business from the Gov. office...the press would love to file an ethics violation against her.
Anonymous @9:40, I understand all that. But if she wins re-election in '10, she's term-limited. She won't be running for gov. again.
Man, being in Alaska seems to be 10 times tougher than everywhere else, so that's nice preparation for Washington.
Anon, are they rules legislated somewhere or just sheer political pressure? She'll get bad press anyway but is it legislated in AK that they governors can't take aleave of absence to run for higher office? After all, she did run for Vice-Presidency didnt she? Running for Prez is the same thing but longer, isn't it?
If she stays a gov., that's good Washington outsider cred. If she runs for senate, that's going to get her foreign policy experience. It's upto her to weigh which is more important.
If it were any other candidate, I'd agree that it would hard for her to run from the base in Alaska; but she has a national following; certainly rivalling the Ron Paul boomlet. Sending her to the Senate, doesn't accomplish much, what qualifies for foreign policy experience, Biden's delusions about Hezbollah. Sending Lisa again back to her father's seat would probably mess up everything Sarah has accomplished in the last two years
It's a smart move that she bowed out CPAC because so much has happened. And it was good timing that she announced it today because today the AG also announced his resignation. And recently Todd and her aides were charged with contempt.
It shows that she has a lot on her plate and she knows where her priorities are.
I also noticed thed Palin did a pre-taped message at the Special Olympics when Gov. Arnold and his wife were there in person (and California is in a financial crisis right now too).
I think Sarah cancelled because of EYEONPALIN.COM & she's a chicken!!
Palin is scheduled to give a major speech in Washington, DC on February 26th. And we want to put the national spotlight on her support for aerial killing of wolves and the execution of helpless wolf pups, her equally outrageous slaughter of female brown and black bears and their cubs, her lawsuit to eliminate federal protections for imperiled polar bears, and her opposition to protecting imperiled beluga whales.
Palin’s clearly worried about our national public education campaign: She’s tried to tar the Eye on Palin campaign as the efforts of an “extreme fringe group.” But Palin’s aerial wolf-killing program has been repeatedly condemned by scientists, Alaskans and ethical hunters alike.
We’ve already gained the support of some 120 members of Congress to pass federal legislation to end her barbaric killing. And we will stop her.
Hey Anon,
What about the caribou calves that are brutally eaten alive by the wolves?
What have you got against those baby calves?
Or, why do you want to allow the wolves to multiply, decimate the caribou calves, and then there is less and less food for the Native Americans in Alaska.
It's not that simply. Alaska is tring to ensure that the wolves and the caribou thrive. Letting the wolves brutally kill off the caribou is NOT the only solution.
"She’s tried to tar the Eye on "Palin campaign as the efforts of an “extreme fringe group.”"
Not only are you a fringe group, after reading your comment ... you are also amazingly dumb.
so you are dumb and a fringe group
AKA
Liberals
and Ashley Judd is an aging loser actress desperate for attention and is using people like yourself to get it.
Yes, she is a breath of fresh air. But I would be willing to send Rendell there for awhile if it means she could come and help us out in PA. and the lower 48. We need her!
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